Friends are the Family You Choose
by ApiringAuthor0305
Summary: Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane have difficult lives for different reasons. Both battle their demons, and both are slowly losing the fight. Could joining forces be the divine move they both desperately need to win, or has English class given them each the key to the other undoing? MALEC Human!AU
1. Chapter One - Alec's Beginning

_**Hello Everybody! This fanfic is set in a Human!AU (they are all still magical, just in a mundane way!), and due to the fact that I am English, it is also set in England, because I have no idea how the Education system works over in the U.S. This storyline follows Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane, as they go through their final year at college whilst dealing with the stresses of family and pressures of society. I would also like to note here that Alec's eyes will be blue like in the books because even though I love Matthew Daddario's gorgeous hazel eyes, I just find it easier to write about Alec's blue eyes and I love how Magnus loves Alec's baby blues. (Matt with blue eyes may sound strange so please don't hate!) Please feel free to let me know of any thoughts or ideas you may have as to where this story may be heading because I love to hear others ideas and I may even use them. Okie dokie, enough from me, I hope you enjoy.**_

 _ **DISCLAIMER: All rights reserving the characters go to Cassandra Clare, and specific references to appearances describe the cast of Shadowhunters. I only own this particular storyline.**_

 **Chapter One**

Monday mornings suck.

The bright sun's rays shine down, bathing everything they touch in a golden warmth. The bird chirp and cheep their morning greetings and in the distance, the low rumble of early morning traffic could be heard. Monday mornings were worse for those people.

A sneaky ray of sunshine peaks its way through the smallest crack in the curtains and lands on the peaceful, sleeping face of Alexander Lightwood. Alec is pulled from his deep slumber by the insistent light dancing over his eyelids. He groans as he throws an arm over his face to protect his eyes, but it is too late. He will never get back to sleep now, so why bother trying?

He moves his arm and sits up slowly. Alec sighs as he opens his eyes. This simple task is more difficult than he thought as his eyelids are stuck together. He rubs away the sleep and his eyes opens easily. Alec glances towards the light but quickly turns away; his baby blues aren't quite ready to face the light of day just yet.

Throwing the covers back and swinging his long legs over the edge of his bed, Alec couldn't hold back the humungous yawn that left his lips. A part of him thought his soul had escaped from yawning so hard. He looks over to the clock on his bedside drawer; it reads: '05:32am'. Alec sighs as he stands up and stretches out all of the kinks of sleep from his body. His footsteps feel heavy as he pads across the room to the curtains, but they make no sound, giving him this other worldly quality. In one graceful motion, Alec pulls the curtains apart and allows the early morning sunlight to flood in.

Alec turns to examine his bedroom. There are a few books littering the floor as well as the odd item of clothing, but nothing he can't sort out later. Silently, he picks up a pair of black jeans - slim fit, not skinny - a blue t-shirt, a dark blue jumper with holes in the elbows and fraying cuffs, and some underwear. He saunters into the adjoining bathroom that connects to his room. Dumping the clothes in his arms in a pile on the floor and shutting the door, Alec looks intently at himself in the mirror.

His black hair has grown so long, the tips now dangle in his eyes and a curl slightly towards the end. His high cheekbones make his pale skin stand out even more against his midnight hair, and his blue eyes remind him of the sea after a storm.

"Who are you?" Alec asks his reflection. He doesn't know who he is anymore, or maybe more accurately, he never knew to begin with. Sure he has a name - Alexander Gideon Lightwood, 'Alec' for short - but he doesn't know who the person attached to the name and face is.

Shaking his head to remove the philosophical thoughts from his mind, he jumps into the shower, allowing the warm water to wash the sleep and stress away. He towels off and leaves his hair as it is and changes. He puts the appropriate school books into his bag and heads downstairs.

Heading into the kitchen, Alec dumps his bag on one of the stools surrounding the island in the middle of the room. He pulls out the carton of orange juice from the fridge, a glass from the shelf, and pours himself a drink. Downing his drink in one, Alec's body shivers as cold liquid runs down his throat.

As he places the glass on the counter, something touches his hand. Alec looks down to discover a post-it note sitting on top of the surface. He pulls it up to eye-level and recognises the cursive script of his mother's handwriting decorating the sticky note. He reads it:

 _Gone to work. Be back late. ~M &D_

Alec scoffs and scrunches the note up. "Typical," he says to the empty kitchen. At least, he thinks it's empty.

"What's 'typical'?" A soft little voice asks from behind Alec. Startled, Alec spins round only to see his youngest brother Max standing there. Alec can't help but smile as he takes Max in. He is overdue for a haircut, much like himself, and his glasses sit askew on his face. Max is small for his age of 13, but Alec has a feeling that soon Max is just going to shoot up and be as tall as he is.

"Morning Max," Alec says ignoring Max's question. "Did you sleep well?" Alec thought it was strange for Max to be up this early, but he shrugged it off, thinking it was probably just because he's nervous and nothing else. It couldn't be anything else.

"Max shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah I guess." He eyes Alec up suspiciously. "You didn't answer my question, what's 'typical'?"

Alec grins. Max's determination for answers is a quality Alec admires from his little brother. "Oh," says Alec, stalling so he can come up with something, "I just thought it was typical that we go back to school and college, and the Sun decides to shine that much brighter." Alec hates lying to any of his siblings, especially Max, but he doesn't want them to be burdened as he is.

Max thinks for a moment, his face contorted in concentration. "Seems more likely that because we have to go back to school, the Sun shines brighter. It about our perspective, not the physical occurrence."

Alec chuckles. "How old are you again?" He jokes. Sometimes Alec forgot that Max was only 13, because sometimes he spoke with such wisdom he could have been a 103. Max smiles at Alec's comment so Alec continues. "Okay, what do you want for breakfast? Your choice, seen as you're the first one up."

"In that case, shouldn't you choose, seen as you were up before me?" Max's say-it-it-as-you-see-it attitude is commendable, but Alec worries it will get Max into trouble one day. He only hopes he'll be there to protect him.

"I can't decide, so I'm asking you."

"Umm... Then, can we have pancakes please?"

"Pancakes it is!" Alec spins around and places a pan on top of the stove. "Right, I'll make us some pancakes, you run up and get ready for school."

"I can't. Izzy is in the bathroom, and we all know she takes forever to get ready."

Alec nods; he knows better than anyone just how long Izzy takes to get ready. "Go and use my bathroom. And do me a favour, go wake Jace up. We'll drop you off at school before we go to college."

"Why can't Mum and Dad take me?" The innocence in Max's voice makes Alec's heartbreak.

"They had to go to work early." Alec's voice sounds rougher than he realises. "It's okay though, if they were to take you, you wouldn't be able to have my amazing pancakes now would you?" Max shakes his head. "Now go on, go get ready."

Max tootles off up the stairs and out of sight. Alec can hear Max banging on Jace's door to wake him up.

Alec begins to work on making the pancakes, as his mind drifts and one thought circles his mind. _When did I become the parent?_

 ** _AN/ So, what did you guys think?_**

 ** _I have made Max older only because I have a younger brother who is also 13 so it made it easier for me to write about. Not on Max: his character will play an important role later on in the story, so keep reading to find out what that role is._**

 ** _The next chapter will be from Magnus' perspective, and then after that we'll be entering into the world of Sixth Form College (if you don't know what that is look it up). Parts of this chapter will come into play later on, when the action picks up, but we're not quite there yet._**

 ** _I am also going to try and post a new chapter regularly (I'm hoping for once a week, but my life is hectic as is everyone's so I will post when I can). Okie dokie, leave a review and let me know what you thought and what you maybe hope to see in the upcoming chapters. Farewell, Angels. :P_**


	2. Chapter 2 - Magnus' Beginning

_**Hello Everybody! Hoping you are all well! I have had a hectic week getting settled back in at College and other stuff, so I apologise for this chapter not being posted sooner. In this chapter, we meet Magnus and friends, and we see that Magnus has some issues of his own which will come into play later. If you have any ideas of what you like to see with regards to Magnus' character development, please feel free to let me know because I may use it (and credit you! I know the rules). Okie dokie, enough from me, here is Magnus and friends so enjoy!**_

 _ **DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to the incredible Cassandra Clare, and rights to Shadowhunters belong to the Executive Producer Ed Decter. I only own this story and no profit has been made.**_

 **Chapter Two**

The Penthouse flat in quiet as usual, not even a hungry and frustrated cat meowing can be heard. That is until small whimpers begin to resonate throughout the large loft – barely audible but there nevertheless.

It's not until the whimpers become louder mixed with the occasional gasp that Ragnor Fell is awoken from his sleep. It takes him a minute to finally come to his senses and catch on fully to the noises. He waits and listens to the whimpers die down, before rolling back over to catch five more minutes.

He doesn't get those five minutes.

A scream filled with aguish and pain surges through the apartment, rattling Ragnor to his very bones. Without a moment's hesitation, Ragnor leaps out of bed, rushes out of the bedroom and runs down the corridor, ignoring the fact he's only in his boxers.

Emerging from another room down the hall, bustles Catarina Loss, one of his flatmates and best friends. She is wearing only a pale blue tank top and a pair of short shorts, with her hair looking more like a bird's nest than hair. Her blue eyes are wide with fear, as another scream rips from behind the middle closed door.

Ragnor, using his shoulder, barges through the door with Cat on his heels. They look on in shock as they see their best friend, Magnus Bane, sprawled across the Queen sided bed, shaking and violently thrashing about, flinging the covers onto the floor.

Cat pushes past Ragnor and kneels on the edge of the bed. She glances over her shoulder to see Ragnor still standing in the doorway. "Are you just going to stand there or help?" She tries to keep her voice even when she speaks, but Ragnor knows her too well and can hear the slight break in her tone.

Magnus turns and rocks vigorously as Ragnor and Cat try to pin him down by his arms. Sweat plasters his hair flat to his face, which is strewn in pain. Cat exchanges a worried glance with Ragnor as Magnus' screams die down but his gasps for air become more frequent.

"We need to wake him up." Cat announces, to which Ragnor is completely bewildered.

"We can't." His voice is desperate for another solution. "You remember what the doctors said."

"If we don't..." Cat doesn't get the chance to finish her sentence.

Magnus' eyes snap open and his body convulses, causing him sit bolt upright. He is panting heavily and his muscles are tense. He looks around the room for a threat but only finds the worried faces of Cat and Ragnor. Tears leak from his eyes as if they were broken water faucets. "Cat?" His voice is shaky and quiet, his throat sore from all his screaming. "Ragnor?" It seems to take him a minute to come to turns with where he is.

"Yeah, Mags, it's us." Cat comforts him, rubbing slow circles on his back. "We're here, with you, you're safe."

At Cat's words, Magnus breaks. He lunges for her and clings to her in a desperate hug as if his life depended on it. With his right hand he reaches behind him and clutches Ragnor's hand, squeezing tightly, needing to make sure they are real and not just in his head. When Magnus is sure they are real, he lets the tears flow freely.

The trio sit there for a long while, the only sounds made of Magnus crying and sniffling and Cat comfortingly hushing him. When his body slowly relaxes and the tears stop falling, Magnus loosens his grip slightly on both Cat and Ragnor but not letting them go quite yet.

A soft silence looms on the air and Ragnor, true to form, is the first to break it. "Magnus?" He begins tentatively. "Are you alright?"

Magnus takes a deep breath and clears his throat. "Yeah, I'm okay." His voice still sounds raw.

"Are you sure?" Cat asks, being a nurse in training has only amplified her mother-hen personality, making her very protective over her loved ones.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Sorry for waking you guys at his ungodly hour." Magnus tries to lighten the mood, but the tension of unasked questions still lingers.

"It's alright." Ragnor makes it seem like it's not big deal but they all know that is not true. "If you hadn't, I'd have probably slept in and we'd have missed our first day."

"And that is a bad thing why?" Magnus has never likes first days of any kind. They got easier as time passed but some thing's always stayed the same. The questionable stares, the hushed whispers, the stupid prejudices. It's not too bad now that he's 19 and going to college. In fact, people at college tend to be the most welcoming and seemingly unaffected by another's looks or fashion statement. And boy does Magnus make one hell of a statement.

"No you are not skipping." Cat interjects, pointedly scowling at both Magnus and Ragnor.

"I wasn't even thinking that." Magnus denies.

"No but you were about to, so I put a stop to it before you even had a chance to go there."

"Sometimes I would if you enjoy being a mood-killer because you're never happy yourself or if you just enjoy torturing others." Ragnor quips, he for one is not impressed with Cat's sensible nature, despite the fact that he is a mild-mannered goody-two-shoes. In fact, out of the three of them, Magnus is the one with the most outrageous behaviour and personality quirks.

Cat sighs and rolls her eyes as she turns her attention back to Magnus, who is now sitting up on his own and has let go of both Cat and Ragnor. "I thought you didn't have them anymore." She whispers, almost as if the quieter she says it, the less real it becomes.

"So did I," says Magnus honestly. "I think it happened again because I am stressed about today." He takes a moment to gather his thoughts and dispel the painful memories. "Watch, I'm sure after today is done, I won't have them again."

"Just..." Cat begins but she struggles to find her words, so instead she grabs his hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. She smiles softly at Magnus who simply nods his head in recognition.

"Promise us if you have them again. We're here for you buddy." Ragnor says, needing to say the words.

"Promise." Magnus replies, counting himself lucky he has such amazing friends.

"Alright, well, I'm going to go and get ready," Ragnor goes to stand up and places a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "Ew!" He exclaims as his hand comes into contact with Magnus' sweaty pyjama shirt. "You my dear friend need to have shower. You're soaked wet threw and you-" He pauses to sniff the air. "God! You stink to high heaven!"

"Better than you on your best day." Magnus remarks, making his green-eyed friend scowl.

"Alright, that's enough testosterone for this morning." Cat says standing in between the two young men. "Magnus go take a shower, you don't want to make a bad impression on your first day of college." She turns to Ragnor. "And Martian," she smirks as Ragnor shoots daggers at her with his eyes, "you might want to do the same."

Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Cat gracefully exits the room, with the same elegance as a ballet dancer. Ragnor still has a face like thunder as Magnus rolls out of bed and waltzes over to his en suite bathroom, to get ready for his day. Checking that he has a towel and his make-up ready and waiting, he hops in the shower, allowing the steaming hot water to cleanse him of the bad BO, the stickiness of sweat, and the horrors of his nightmares.

 ** _So, what did you guys think? I am planning to have Cat and Ragnor feature more later on in the series. I am thinking of playing with the idea of parallels between Magnus and Alec in throughout this, but if you guys don't like that I won't. Let me know what you think. Okay, so the next part will be set in a Sixth Form College (if you don't know what they are look it up). There will be quite a bit of detail on the college and timetables and what not but I'm hoping after I won't need to put as much in. (Get it out of the way so we can enjoy the good stuff!) Okie dokie, that's all from me for now. Hope you guys and enjoy and don't be shy to tell me what you thought - good or bad or really bad - all reviews are welcome._**

 ** _Farwell Angels. :)_**


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